I interviewed Aidan Kelly yesterday. Check one more name off the list! <lj-cut>I'm still trying to schedule an interview with Orien Laplante. I've let slip my attempts to contact Carolyn Clark, and I haven't even tried to speak with Robin Goodfellow yet. I haven't had much luck on getting PDFs of back issues of Green Egg or…
The gaming magazines labeled this one of the best video games of 2014, and I can see why. It's got a good story, a nice advancement system, and an interesting new mechanic in the form of the nemesis system. The story takes place in the time between the events of the Hobbit and the Lord of the…
One of my favorite board games is Betrayal on House on the Hill. It’s a semi-cooperative board game. The game has two phases. In the first phase, the players work together in exploring an old house. After a random event occurs, the game shifts into its second phase: One players’ character is randomly chosen to be a traitor. The traitor works to kill off the other players’ characters, while the other players work together to escape that fate.
From today's <a href="http://writersalmanac.org/episodes/20160704/">Writer's Almanac</a>: <b>Preface to Leaves of Grass</b> by Walt Whitman This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have…
Today I finished editing the video for the hour-long talk I gave a month ago. It was on the history of the Nevis estate, and is the most recent of the <a href="http://www.nevis.columbia.edu/events/science-on-hudson.html">#ScienceOnHudson lecture series</a> at <a href="http://www.nevis.columbia.edu/">the lab</a> where I work. <lj-cut>I'm proud of this video. The main reason why is that I had to pull…
Today, a student comes into my office. This is one of the physics summer students who are here as a result of a nation-wide selection for the brightest. Here's the exchange: "I can't run GIMP on the server." "Did you try typing 'gimp' on the command line?" "I did, and it didn't work." I sigh, and start…
The saga is complete, at least for now. It's possible that there will be more games released with the Uncharted title, but Nathan Drake has climbed his last cliff face. In reviewing the game, the most striking thing about it is the graphics design. Naughty Dog knew how to take full advantage of the PS3, and they…
I was one of the jurors let go as a result of a challenge. So my jury duty is over. I won’t have to do it again for four years (for a federal court) or six years (for a state court).
This year’s Passover seder (on Friday evening) is more logistically complex than previous years, even though the number of people is fewer.